Improvement in targets for testing penetration of shot



I I J. P. ONEIL. F Target for Testing 'Penetra-tioniof Shot No. 197,398.Patented Nov. 20,1877.

NiTED STATES PATENT Orriron;

J. PALMER ONEIL, 0F PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ITMPRQVEMENT IN TARGETS FOR TESTING PENETRATION 'OF SHOT.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 197,398, dated November20, 1877; application filed October 9, 1877. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. PALMER 'ONEIL, of Pittsburg, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Devices for Testing the Distribution and Penetration ofShot, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being hadto theaccompanyingdrawing, in which a V Figure 1 is a rear perspective view ofdevices embodying my invention; Fig.2 is a front view of target. Fig. 3is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the adjustment of thedevices for rising or falling ranges. Fig. 4. is a view of the partsdetached and folded for transportation.

Like letters refer to like parts wherever they occur.

My invention relates to portable and adjustable devices for testing thedistribution and penetration of shot and quality of powder; andconsists, first, in combining, with atarget which will give thedistribution, a test-rack for supporting a series of papers in rear ofthe target, which determine the penetration or power of the gun;secondly, in so constructing and connecting the target and test-rackthat the latter can be adjusted with relation to the target to suit thegrades upon which it may be necessary or desirable to use the devices;and, finally, in details of construction, hereinafter more specificallyset forth.

The object of the present invention is to provide devices by means ofwhich an uniform and standard test can be applied to ammunition andfire-arms, especially shot-guns and sporting powder, so that comparativevalues may be determined independently of the mere judgment of theshooter.

The ordinary method of testing the power of shot-guns as to penetration,&c., as now practiced, is to fire the charge from a given distance intoa blank or other book, the number of leaves perforated determining thepenetration; but it is evident that the varying quality of paper and thesolidity or compact arrangement of theleaves, aswell as other causesapparent to the sportsman, must render such a method at all timesuncertain, variable in results, and generally unsatisfactory.

With my devices, a standard as to distance, distribution, penetration,850., having been once fixed and determined, unvarying tests; can beapplied, and comparative results es tablished.

Iwill now proceed to describe'my invention, so that others skilled inthe art to which it appertains may apply the same.

' In the drawing, A indicates the target, which is usually a frame fromthirty to forty inches square, composed of light boards, preferablyhinged or jointed, as shown at a a, so as to be folded or detached forpacking and transportation. This target A is supported by detachablefeet a, has a central opening, (4 about nine to twelve inches, orcorresponding to the cross-section of the test-rack employed, and isprovided with clamps to or other suitable means of securing thetarget-sheet.

Bis the test-rack, constructed of bottom and top pieces I) I), connectedby side bars or uprights 0 c. The pieces I) b are grooved at regularintervals, as at d d, for the reception and support of cards or papers0, and the grooves are numbered to indicate the relation of thetest-card to the target. The connection between the target and test-rackis preferably made by means of a detachable hinge or hook-and-eyeconnection, h i, and the opposite end of the rack is supported byslotted uprights l, secured thereto by set-screws m, which permit of thedownward extension of the uprights when the rear end of the rest is tobe elevated, as in firing upon a rising or falling grade.

1n such tests as I have made heretofore, I have found a rackten inchessquare and thirtysix to forty inches in length to answer the purpose. Insuch or a similar rack strawboard, varying from No. 45 to No. 60(wellknown to the trade) may be employed, the pieces being arranged fromone-half to threefourths of an inch apart.

The devices are employed as follows: The ground having been selected andmarked off, thetargetis arrangedinposition forthe shooter. Two cards, 6,of the test-rack are perfoated in the center and placed at opposite endsof the rack, and a person standing in rear of the rack loosens theset-screws, raising or lowering the rear end of the rack, and extendingthe uprights Z until the sight through the openings in both cards showthat the rack is in line with the range, after which the setscrews aretightened, the perforated cards are removed, and other cards 6 inserted,and a sheet secured by clamps or otherwise to the face of the target.After the firing, the distribution can be readily determined by countingthe number of shots in a selected circle of thirty inches or morediameter, and the penetration by the number of cards perforated by agiven number of shot.

The adjustability of the test-rack insures the fair presentation of thetest-sheets, so that no glancing can occur.

The parts I) b constituting the rack may be as shown or side pieces, andmade by sawing grooves in boards, or by corrugating strips of sheetmetal, which will answer the purpose very well.

The devices.when not in use, can be packed for storage or transportationby unhooking the rack, removing the cards 0, and pressing the two partsI) b together, so as to bring the extension-supports Zin line with theparts I) I). The feet a are then removed from target A, (or may behinged to fold against the same,)

the sections folded together, and the Whole arranged as shown in Fig. 4.

The advantages of my invention are: First,

that an unvarying standard test for penetration and distribution of shotand quality of powder can be established; secondly, the devices aresimple and eflective for the purposes intended; and, thirdly, they arecheap, compact, and'can be readily packed and transported.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to securebyLetters Patent is- 1: In a device for testing the distribution andpenetration of shot and quality of powder, the combination of a targetand a rack for test-cards, arranged in rear thereof, substantially asspecified.

2. In a device for testing the penetration of shot and quality ofpowder, the adjustable test-card rack, substantially as and for thepurpose specified. g

3. In a device for testing the distribution and penetration of shot, thecombination of the target and detachable test-rack, the partsconstructed and adaptedtobe folded for transportation, substantially asspecified.

4. The test-rack for testing the penetration of shot, consisting ofboards b I), grooved at intervals, and connected, to form a frame forthe reception of cards e, substantiallyas speci- 5. The combination,with thetest-rack B, of the extension-supports l l and set-screws,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I, the said J. PALMER ON E11, have hereunto set myhand.

J. PALMER ONEIL. Witnesses:

F. W. BITTER, Jr.,

JAMES I. KAY.

